The latest on California politics and government

January 9, 2012

Banks have tried to discourage customers from using tellers in person; now Gov. Jerry Brown wants to do the same for renewals at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The governor, in his latest budget plan, proposed a $5 discount for drivers who use the internet or mail to renew their "routine" vehicle registrations. The plan would save drivers an estimated $100 million statewide annually.

It's unclear how much this would save the state, as opposed to drivers. But Brown's budget says it would "result in savings for the DMV by moving customers from more costly field offices to less expensive methods of renewing vehicle registrations."